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Our daily look at telecom news around the Web--and what a busy day it is:

Broadband downloading to send DVDs to early grave--Vnunet.com

Chicago plans citywide hot spot--Chicago Tribune (free signup or a visit to BugMeNot required. Or check out Mobile Pipeline's take)

Skype CEO takes on telcos--eWeek

Samsung develops cell phone with hard-disk drive--Infoworld, or the PC World take.

Vonage being blocked--again--Information Week

Avoiding a VoIP security 'judgment day'--SearchSecurity.com

Norwegian TV airs live from mobile phone --Associated Press

Boeing launches in-flight Internet service--TechNewsWorld

Comment on one of these stories? … Read more

Verizon Communications and SBC Communications aren't the only telephone companies wooing high-end business customers. On Thursday the UK's largest telecom operator BT Group said it has won a $3 billion contract with Reuters Group.

The deal is BT??s biggest ever service contract, and it's part of a strategy to reduce the company's dependency on less lucrative local and long telephone service by providing fully managed and complex networks to multinational companies.

This is a similar strategy to the carriers in the United States. In fact, that is why SBC said it's buying AT&… Read more

The Utah Telecommunication Open Infrastructure Agency, or Utopia, has begun construction to lace homes in 14 cities with fiber optic lines. Speeds will begin at a minimum of 100mbps downstream and upstream.

Paul Morris, Utopia's executive director, compared the infrastructure development to a municipally funded airport. Cities pay for the airport's construction, private airlines lease space and fly the planes. Utopia will raise funds through government bonds and hire private companies for all of the network's construction and maintenance.

The local Baby Bell, Qwest Communications International, had blocked Utopia from reaching Salt Lake City. Other local-phone giants … Read more

Bill Huang, chief technology officer at telecom equipment maker UT Starcom, said the cost of providing speedy fiber optic lines to consumers in Asia will dip to $100 per subscriber in two years. That's down from the current $200 per subscriber price point today.

Speaking at FastNet Futures, an offshoot of the Voice on the Net conference in San Jose, Calif., Huang attributed the 50 percent decline to the high volume of fiber demand and deployment in China and Japan. Huang knows from first-hand experience, since he supplies fiber equipment to Yahoo BB in Japan, the progeny of flamboyant … Read more

Our daily look at telecom news around the Web:

Can WiMax Hype Match Reality?--Mobile Pipeline

Carriers bringing TV to cell phones--TechNewsWorld

Will enterprises take to AOL's VoIP service?--eWeek

Yes, a light day for our usual roundup, but don't forget to check out our coverage of the VON Internet telephony conference in San Jose.

Comment on one of these stories? A link we missed that you want to post? We'll see you on the comments page ...

Events over the past few weeks have made many participants at this week's Voice on the Net conference nervous. But regulators at the Federal Communications Commission are offering assurances that the long arm of the U.S. government will not embrace network favoritism.

A key moment came when the FCC slapped a $15,000 fine on Madison River Communication, a Mebane, N.C., telco that has become firma non grata among VON attendees for blocking VoIP providers from accessing its network. VoIP, which lets people make voice calls over an Internet pipe, is seen as a competitive threat to … Read more

Our daily look at telecom stories around the Web, heavy today on the VON conference news:

VOIP port blocking draws congressional interest--eWeek

Don't expect telecom reform in '05, VON panelists say--Networking Pipeline

Small telecom carriers focus on providing choices--Infoworld

VoIP outage mania: CallVantage, Lingo, Vonage outages--Broadband Reports

VON: Consumers not thrilled by cheap VoIP--Telephony Online

Comment on one of these stories? A link we missed that you want to post? We'll see you on the comments page ...

Our daily look at telecom news around the Web:

Cisco steps up plans for Airespace products--eWeek

Applications ease VoIP management--eWeek

Cell TV: Vegging out in front of the phone--Wired

Quick and painless Wi-Fi security--PC Magazine

Bell Canada to offer 'naked' DSL--The Toronto Star

Survey: 52 percent of enterprises already use VoIP--Networking Pipeline

Comment on one of these stories? A link we missed that you want to post? We'll see you on the comments page ...

The MCI merger saga continues. Now MCI's largest shareholder is weighing in, and he doesn??t seem happy.

Carlos Slim Helu, dubbed the richest man in Latin America by Forbes, filed a form with the Securities and Exchange Commission saying that he has taken an "active interest" in merger talks between Verizon Communications and Qwest Communications International, and he has urged MCI's board to "maximize value for the owners of common shares."

The Wall Street Journal reported that a spokesman for the billionaire said he viewed both the Verizon and Qwest offers as too … Read more